The New York Pops

Pink Martini: Joy to the World

Influenced by Latin music, jazz, cabaret, cinema scores, and more, Pink Martini creates a fabulously eclectic, modern sound. This special multi-denominational holiday concert features songs from the band’s best-selling album, Joy to the World.

Performers

The New York PopsSteven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor

Pink Martini

Bios

The New York Pops

The New York Pops is the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States, and the
only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. Led
by Music Director Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series at
Carnegie Hall, enjoying one of its highest subscription renewal rates. The New York Pops'
annual birthday gala is celebrated each spring, raising funds for the orchestra and its
education programs. Now in its 30th season, The New York Pops celebrates the diversity of
popular music's evolving songbook. Every concert is a unique experience, with influences
ranging from Broadway melodies to film scores, jazz, rock, pop, and everything in between.
Under the leadership of Steven Reineke, the orchestra continues to re-imagine orchestral
pops music.

The New York Pops is committed to creating access for all members of the community. An
annual collaboration with Central Park SummerStage pairs the orchestra with contemporary
artists for free outdoor concerts. Thousands of children and their parents have the
opportunity to see the orchestra during interactive and educational family concerts in
partnership with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. The New York Pops' extensive
education programs allow thousands of New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds to
participate in concert and music-making experiences. The orchestra is dedicated to lifelong
learning, and collaborates with public schools, community organizations, children's
hospitals and senior centers throughout the five boroughs of
New York City.

A recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council
on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York Pops is a
non-profit organization supported solely through the generosity of individual donations,
institutional grants, corporate sponsorships, and concert income.

Steven Reineke

Steven Reineke's boundless enthusiasm and exceptional artistry have made him one of the
nation's most sought-after pops conductors, composers, and arrangers. Mr. Reineke is music
director and conductor of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the newly appointed principal
pops conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and principal pops conductor of the
National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, DC.

Mr. Reineke is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and in the past
year he has conducted the Boston Pops, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival. His extensive North American conducting engagements
include appearances with the orchestras of Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Edmonton,
Vancouver, Ottawa, Detroit, Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Tampa, Calgary, Memphis, and Oklahoma
City.

As the creator of more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra,
Mr. Reineke's work has been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati
Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. His symphonic works Celebration
Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Casey at the Bat are
performed frequently in North America, including performances by the New York Philharmonic
and Los Angeles Philharmonic. His Sun Valley Festival Fanfare was used to
commemorate the Sun Valley Summer Symphony's pavilion, and his Festival Te
Deum and Swan's Island Sojourn were debuted by the Cincinnati
Symphony and Cincinnati Pops orchestras. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are
published by the C. L. Barnhouse Company, and are performed by concert bands around the
world.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, where he earned
bachelor of music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He
currently resides in New York City.

Pink Martini

In 1994, in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, Thomas Lauderdale was working in politics,
thinking that one day he would run for mayor. Like other eager politicians-in-training, he
went to every political fundraiser under the sun, but was dismayed to find the music at
these events underwhelming, lackluster, loud, and un-neighborly. Drawing inspiration from
music from all over the world-crossing genres of classical, jazz, and old-fashioned pop-and
hoping to appeal to conservatives and liberals alike, he founded the "little orchestra"
Pink Martini in 1994 to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks at
fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment,
libraries, public broadcasting, education, and parks.

One year later, Mr. Lauderdale called China Forbes, a Harvard classmate who was living in
New York City, and asked her to join Pink Martini. Their first original song,
"Sympathique," became an overnight sensation in France, was nominated for Song of the Year
at France's Victoires de la Musique Awards, and to this day remains a mantra ("Je ne veux
pas travailler" or "I don't want to work") for striking French workers. Says Lauderdale,
"We're very much an American band, but we spend a lot of time abroad and therefore have the
incredible diplomatic opportunity to represent a broader, more inclusive America-the
America which remains the most heterogeneously populated country in the world, composed of
people of every country, every language, every religion."

Featuring a dozen musicians, Pink Martini performs its multilingual repertoire on concert
stages and with symphony orchestras on every continent. The band made its European debut at
the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998
under the direction of Norman Leyden. Since then, it has gone on to play with more than 50
orchestras around the world, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl,
the Boston Pops, the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, and the San
Francisco Symphony.

Pink Martini's debut album, Sympathique, was released independently in 1997 on
the band's own label, Heinz Records, and quickly became an international phenomenon,
garnering the group nominations for Song of the Year and Best New Artist at France's 2000
Victoires de la Musique Awards. Pink Martini released Hang on Little Tomato in
2004, Hey Eugene! in 2007, and Splendor in the Grass in 2009. In November
2010, the band released Joy to the World-a festive, multi-denominational holiday
album featuring songs from around the globe. All five albums have gone gold in France,
Canada, Greece, and Turkey, and have sold well over 2.5 million copies worldwide. In fall
2011, the band released 1969, an album of collaborations with legendary Japanese
singer Saori Yuki. 1969 has been certified platinum in Japan, reaching No. 2 on
the Japanese charts.

Audio

Santa Baby

Pink Martini

Heinz Records

The Program

Good evening, and welcome to The New York Pops' annual holiday
celebration. We're delighted to be joined this weekend by
international sensation Pink Martini. Known as a "little
orchestra," Pink Martini joins forces with our musicians to become
a full orchestra tonight, as we present the world premiere
of a new concert, Joy to the World. Based on the band's
highly acclaimed CD of the same name, Joy to the
World will take you on a musical journey to celebrate
holiday traditions from cultures across the globe. Along the way,
we'll keep up the festive spirit with some of Pink Martini's
greatest hits.

I've had the privilege of working with Pink Martini when conducting
other orchestras around the country, and I've always been
mesmerized by their incredible virtuosity, musical knowledge, and
showmanship. Although the band has previously performed two
sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, tonight marks their first
performance with a full symphony orchestra in New York City. It is
always a pleasure for me to work with Pink Martini's founder and
leader, Thomas Lauderdale. He is dedicated to fruitful and
innovative collaborations, and I look forward to performing with
the special guests he has invited this evening.

On behalf of all of us at The New York Pops, we wish you and yours
a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a healthy and prosperous New
Year. In the spirit of this holiday season, we invite you to think
more globally by wishing "Joy to the World!"

—Steven Reineke

Watch

Thomas Lauderdale—founder and bandleader of Pink Martini—introduces the band.

Steven Reineke Introduces The New York Pops' 2012-2013 Season at Carnegie Hall.